🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.